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Recommend me a GPU

D

danomite

n00b
Joined
Mar 10, 2007
Messages
29
My system is a e6750 @ 3.2, 8800GT, 4GB ram and my power supply just died. I plan on getting the Corsair TX650W as replacement but was also considering to upgrade my GPU.

I haven't been following the market much lately so I'm not sure what to get. Nvidia is my preference though as I can't stand the CCC (Catalyst Control Center) but power is first priority.

Ideally I would like to spend $200CAD but could be pressured to go out of my price range.

School me [H]ardForum =)

Games I play: GTA4, L4D, Red Faction, Crysis, Grid, Burnout (no particular order)
 
Right now 1680*1050 but I could see myself getting an 1920*1080 monitor in the future (probably upgrade yet again at that point). For the purpose of this thread let's stick to a 1680*1050 resolution.
 
First, you don't need to install CCC, ATI provides just the driver. So if you're like me and don't have a reason to tweak any options, you can run just the driver.

For that resolution, you won't need anymore than 512 MB for the gpu so a 4850 512 or GTX 260 216 896MB would be a nice upgrade for you.
 
I do use the secondary video out for my HDTV so I would need to install CCC to enable the video out options such as clone or extend desktop mode =(

I was also eying the 4890 which is priced at $250CAD but at that point I might as well spring for the 5850 @ $300. Any chance with the release of the new ATi cards that prices will make a significant drop in prices across of the board?

Right now, the 4870 1GB is priced at ~$170CAD, which I think would be my best bet?
 
If you're itching to upgrade now I'd say the radeon 5850 is your best bet for a very fast card that is also a little future proof with DX11. It might be a tiny bit out of your price range but sell that 8800 and you're good. Plus this is [H] :)
 
danomite said:
I was also eying the 4890 which is priced at $250CAD but at that point I might as well spring for the 5850 @ $300. Any chance with the release of the new ATi cards that prices will make a significant drop in prices across of the board?
Click to expand...

Forgive me if I am wrong, but cards like the 4890 and 5850 are damn well [H]eafty performers even in the 1920x1080 and 1920x1200 range. If you think you will be going with a better card at the time you hit one of these resolutions then you may want something cheaper that will still rape games at your current monitor's resolution...

Now the prices are still great and if it isn't much for you either way, you could get either one of those two and be extremely happy. The type of happy that puts white stains on your paints happy. :p
 
At that resolution , get the 5850, you get DX11 and Eyefidelity support and at 259$ , you can't go wrong.
 
Yeah, definitely recommend a 5850, especially if you play Crysis. It's the price/performance king and will be for at least 3 months..
 
I think I'm going to go with the 4890. I plan on getting it price matched to DirectCanada.com

I don't need to future proof my GPU for a long period of time. If things go well I can see myself upgrading in another 6-9 months.
 
Will the Corsair 650W be enough to power my system?

ATi 4890
e6750 @ 3.2
4GB
4x HDDs
1 CD-Rom
 
danomite said:
Will the Corsair 650W be enough to power my system?

ATi 4890
e6750 @ 3.2
4GB
4x HDDs
1 CD-Rom
Click to expand...

Yes. The 4890 overclocks very well and should be good enough for that resolution. Hope you got a good deal on it. I'd probably upgrade the monitor next. A 24" monitor at 1920x1200 or 1080P will make a huge difference in your gaming experience. What video card are you stepping up from?
 
vjcsmoke said:
Yes. The 4890 overclocks very well and should be good enough for that resolution. Hope you got a good deal on it. I'd probably upgrade the monitor next. A 24" monitor at 1920x1200 or 1080P will make a huge difference in your gaming experience. What video card are you stepping up from?
Click to expand...
I'm using an 8800GT right now and a 20" LG 1680*1050 monitor. The monitor is fine but I'd really like to clone my display to my HDTV and the best/easiest way would be to have the same resolution on both displays (re: 1080P).

I'll be getting the GPU for $254CAD ($240USD) after taxes.
 
dude, the 4890 is terrible value at this point. for 50$ more (5850) you get basically twice the performance.

If you can't fork out the 299 for the 5850, the better options would be to wait a few weeks for the 5770 which will be well within your price range (sub 200) or if you can't do that either, try a $150 4870 which is much better value for your dollar. The 4800 series is on the edge of being discontinued, investing over 200$ on it is VERY untimely.
 
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If this is a "jab" upgrade for an upcoming right cross (5870X2, etc.), then I would go with a 4870 1GB for now. At 1680x1050, it's easily the best bang for your buck, at around $150. If you think you will go with a more middle-of-the-road card later (5850, GTX 285), I would just get a 5850 now, as it's not worth upgrading twice, in my opinion.
 
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TheQuestian said:
If this is a "jab" upgrade for an upcoming right cross (5870X2, etc.), then I would go with a 4870 1GB for now. At 1680x1050, it's easily the best bang for your buck, at around $150. If you think you will go with a more middle-of-the-road card later (5850, GTX 285), I would just get a 5850 now, as it's not worth upgrading twice, in my opinion.
Click to expand...

Good points there. +1.

The 5870 crushes just about everything at 1920x1080. I expect the 5850 to be nearly as potent, especially after you OC it. If a new display is in the feature, the extra $50 for a 5850 is a wise investment for down the road.

The 4890 will max everything out at 1680x1050, but I think it will show its age once you get to higher resolutions, and it does not have DX11 built in.
 
Forget the 4890, waste of money. go with the 4870. find one on here cheap, like claose to $100.

Save up and get a 5850.
 
TheQuestian said:
If this is a "jab" upgrade for an upcoming right cross (5870X2, etc.), then I would go with a 4870 1GB for now. It's easily the best bang for your buck, at around $150. If you think you will go with a more middle-of-the-road card later (5850, GTX 285), I would just get a 5850 now, as it's not worth upgrading twice, in my opinion.
Click to expand...
This is what I have to work with.

http://www.memoryexpress.com/ <-- Vendor I will be purchasing from and they match online prices.

http://www.DirectCanada.com Canadian Online Retailer
http://www.NCIX.com Canadian Online Retailer
 
Wow. I see. It looks like the 5850 is still not widely available or else that's what I'd recommend for you. Dunno 4870 is cheaper, 4890 overclocks better but more expensive. Is Bing cashback available in Canada? The prices on those 4870s looks a little high. You can get a 4870 1GB for under $140 with bing cashback here in the states. If you're not in a rush to upgrade, you could just wait till the 5850 becomes more widely available. And who knows by then there could be cashback or mir with it.
 
jp_zer0 said:
dude, the 4890 is terrible value at this point. for 50$ more (5850) you get basically twice the performance.

If you can't fork out the 299 for the 5850, the better options would be to wait a few weeks for the 5770 which will be well within your price range (sub 200) or if you can't do that either, try a $150 4870 which is much better value for your dollar. The 4800 series is on the edge of being discontinued, investing over 200$ on it is VERY untimely.
Click to expand...

? 50 more its lke 120 more, also there is no way 5850 to be 2x faster then 4890 not even 50% get real.
 
danomite said:
This is what I have to work with.

http://www.memoryexpress.com/ <-- Vendor I will be purchasing from and they match online prices.

http://www.DirectCanada.com Canadian Online Retailer
http://www.NCIX.com Canadian Online Retailer
Click to expand...

that makes it kinda hard really, I would actually consider waiting a bit and see what comes up. if your not upgrade often a 5850 would be better. but a 4890 would run most everything well except the GTA and crysis. you would need the 5850 to play high end even on a 22"

if you wait a bit I would imagine that Nvidia is going to have some price drops, a GTX275 would serve you well here. I just hate to suggest a GTX275 / 4890 with the new gen out. I see you can get a GTX260 for 190 a 4890 for 240 so I would lean against the GTX260 (is there some reason that the Nvidia cards are overprice here compared to the ATI?)

in short, I would wait a week to see what the stock brings you. also I just looked at the first site, do either of the other site have better nvidia pricing?
 
danomite said:
I'm leaning towards the 4870 1GB. I can get a local store to price match the 4870 from ncix.com.

How is the Sapphire branded card? Is it reliable? How well does it overclock?
Click to expand...

Sapphire is ATi's primary vendor.
XFX comes next (as they are a fence straddler...):)
 
Valset said:
that makes it kinda hard really, I would actually consider waiting a bit and see what comes up. if your not upgrade often a 5850 would be better. but a 4890 would run most everything well except the GTA and crysis. you would need the 5850 to play high end even on a 22"

if you wait a bit I would imagine that Nvidia is going to have some price drops, a GTX275 would serve you well here. I just hate to suggest a GTX275 / 4890 with the new gen out. I see you can get a GTX260 for 190 a 4890 for 240 so I would lean against the GTX260 (is there some reason that the Nvidia cards are overprice here compared to the ATI?)

in short, I would wait a week to see what the stock brings you. also I just looked at the first site, do either of the other site have better nvidia pricing?
Click to expand...
Yeah MemoryExpress's prices are a bit higher which I why I was using NCIX, DirectCanada, Newegg.ca as my benchmark (pending availability) because they will price match.

I guess a 4870 wouldn't be too horrible. I could play the games I do smoother than what I experience now.

I failed to mention I do have a P5K-E as my motherboard which supports Crossfire but I've always been wary of multi-GPU systems.
 
danomite said:
I'm leaning towards the 4870 1GB. I can get a local store to price match the 4870 from ncix.com.

How is the Sapphire branded card? Is it reliable? How well does it overclock?
Click to expand...
Yeah, that looks like your best bet. Prices are quite a bit inflated at those sites, eh?

Here's an XFX card, with a $20 fail-in rebate, in case you have a brand preference. I believe they have a lifetime warranty.
 
TheQuestian said:
Yeah, that looks like your best bet. Prices are quite a bit inflated at those sites, eh?

Here's an XFX card, with a $20 fail-in rebate, in case you have a brand preference. I believe they have a lifetime warranty.
Click to expand...
I like the Sapphire card more. I've read the cooler design isn't as noisy as the reference design on the other 4870's. This card will probably be retied to my HTPC after my next upgrade.
 
danomite said:
I like the Sapphire card more. I've read the cooler design isn't as noisy as the reference design on the other 4870's. This card will probably be retied to my HTPC after my next upgrade.
Click to expand...
I agree. I'd go with the Sapphire between the two.
 
On the affordable end HD4770 in Xfire rocks 1920x1080. + psu power requirement friendly.
2 of them can be had for under $200.
 
How's this card? I think for $200 it's a pretty good deal considering the next cheapest card is the 4870 @ $175. For 15% more I get a little bit more performance, cooler running gpu and a better overclocker. There's only a few left so I might snap this up quickly.
 
Spend extra $50 and get a 5850 you will make up some of the cost difference in your power bill.
 
danomite said:
How's this card? I think for $200 it's a pretty good deal considering the next cheapest card is the 4870 @ $175. For 15% more I get a little bit more performance, cooler running gpu and a better overclocker. There's only a few left so I might snap this up quickly.
Click to expand...

The 4890 is in a bad place right now, its too much for the performance it offers compared to getting a 5850 which runs cooler/less power and is a better card, and only $50 more like the above poster said. I would say either go with the cheapest 4870 1GB you can find, save up for the 5850, or wait until the HD5750/5770 comes out in the next week or so.

SonDa5 said:
On the affordable end HD4770 in Xfire rocks 1920x1080. + psu power requirement friendly.
2 of them can be had for under $200.
Click to expand...

Dude holy sh!t, you seriously plug the 4770 in EVERY POST! I've been here for like a month and I've seen like 10 posts of you saying OMG GET THE 4770 IN CROSSFIRE OMG OMG, and the truth is, getting 2 4770's is a stupid decision. If the op already had a 4770, then yes, recommend him crossfire, but if he crossfires two weak cards right now, what upgradability will he have in the future? You gunna recommend him ANOTHER 4770??? And under $200 cad? See here:

http://www.directcanada.com/search/?kw=HD 4770

113 x 2 != $200
 
sirmo said:
Spend extra $50 and get a 5850 you will make up some of the cost difference in your power bill.
Click to expand...
The cheapest I could get a 5850 for is 299.99 + 9.99 (shipping) + 3.00 (insurance) + 15.65 (5% tax) = 328.63

The cheapest I can get a 4890 is 199.99 + 9.99 + 3.00 + 10.65 = 223.63

Is the extra $105 (50% more) worth the gains? Will I see 50% increase in fps between the two cards?

The 4870 I would get is 175 + 10 + 3 + 9.40 = $197.40

~$25 difference between the 4890 and 4870. Is a 14% increase in price worth the 20-25% increase in performance with the 4890??
 
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danomite said:
The cheapest I could get a 5850 for is 299.99 + 9.99 (shipping) + 3.00 (insurance) + 15.65 (5% tax) = 328.63

The cheapest I can get a 4890 is 199.99 + 9.99 + 3.00 + 10.65 = 223.63

Is the extra $105 (50% more) worth the gains? Will I see 50% increase in fps between the two cards?

The 4870 I would get is 175 + 10 + 3 + 9.40 = $197.40

~$25 difference between the 4890 and 4870. Is a 14% increase in price worth the 20-25% increase in performance with the 4890??
Click to expand...

The 4890 is definatley the sweet spot in that scenario, especially for gaming at 1680x1050.

The 5850 is anywhere from ~8% to ~25% faster than the 4890 @ 1680x1050 depending on the game. Not worth the extra $100+ imo

http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=3650&p=4

EDIT - just checking some other reviews and it seems anand is more conservative than others in his reviews. Toms hardware claims up to 50% better frame rates on far cry 2 on the 5850 over the 4890 @ your res with AA enabled.. *shrugs*
 
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danomite said:
The cheapest I could get a 5850 for is 299.99 + 9.99 (shipping) + 3.00 (insurance) + 15.65 (5% tax) = 328.63

The cheapest I can get a 4890 is 199.99 + 9.99 + 3.00 + 10.65 = 223.63

Is the extra $105 (50% more) worth the gains? Will I see 50% increase in fps between the two cards?

The 4870 I would get is 175 + 10 + 3 + 9.40 = $197.40

~$25 difference between the 4890 and 4870. Is a 14% increase in price worth the 20-25% increase in performance with the 4890??
Click to expand...

Wow your 5850 prices are jacked compared to your 4890. The 4890 does perform better than the 4870 for only 20-25$ difference. Since your prices are different I would suggest the HD4890, but again, wait a week and see what the HD5770/5750 do to the prices of all of ATI's cards. With the 5770 being at the 199$ price point I can see the 4890 possibly dropping.
 
danomite said:
The cheapest I could get a 5850 for is 299.99 + 9.99 (shipping) + 3.00 (insurance) + 15.65 (5% tax) = 328.63

The cheapest I can get a 4890 is 199.99 + 9.99 + 3.00 + 10.65 = 223.63

Is the extra $105 (50% more) worth the gains? Will I see 50% increase in fps between the two cards?

The 4870 I would get is 175 + 10 + 3 + 9.40 = $197.40

~$25 difference between the 4890 and 4870. Is a 14% increase in price worth the 20-25% increase in performance with the 4890??
Click to expand...

the question I would ask here is how often do you upgrade and are you planning to add more monitors? if you don't keep your card for years on end and are sure about not upgrading your monitors (getting another two 22" or moving to a 24-30) then go with the 4890. otherwise take another look at the 5850, but even a 4850 would be fine for the time being if you want to wait until the price drops (not sure what card do you have now?)
 
Valset said:
the question I would ask here is how often do you upgrade and are you planning to add more monitors? if you don't keep your card for years on end and are sure about not upgrading your monitors (getting another two 22" or moving to a 24-30) then go with the 4890. otherwise take another look at the 5850, but even a 4850 would be fine for the time being if you want to wait until the price drops (not sure what card do you have now?)
Click to expand...
My last upgrade was from an x1950xt to the 8800gt which I'm still running. I try not to upgrade frequently, maybe every 12-18 months depending on my requirements.

The only thing I plan on doing is getting an 1920x1080 monitor so I can clone my desktop for my TV in the living room because I also use my PC as my media box.
 
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